Where to get Skyline Serviced

[CeJay]

so this used to be gastune? Do they have a new dyno?

[Sinista32]

Nah not Gast tune. A shop or two up from gastune I think.

But I could be totally wrong as to location. The photo just looks to be in those row of shops where audiotech is and next to where the carwash place is.

[Bullet32]

You are correct Richard, Techworkz is in the same row of shops as Gas Tune but they are 2 shops up (next to Audiotech).

Oh and I forgot to mention that these guys are MTAA registered so they can do log-book servicing as well.

Here's a fairly recent photo of the shop:

[Sinista32]

Hey Mick - so you recomend these guys for Skyliners and mods/Tunning.

Do you know if they have good Haltech skills ?

I might have to go in for a chat hey....

[Bullet32]

I dont know how good Mick is with Haltech but I know that he has built a number of rally and race cars with aftermarket management... Its worth asking him though (tell him that Mick from Federal sent you).

Mick runs the show and he has an off sider there with him at the moment... I have seen in great detail and driven the legs off Mick's cars before and have been very impressed, I definitely recommend him

[zebra]

It seems to me that everywork shop in Canberra has built race/rally cars...but who are the only ones that you have heard of...Neal Bates.

Ive built a race car...that doesnt make me a good mechanic...infact most race cars are dodgy as fark underneath

[Bullet32]

It seems to me that everywork shop in Canberra has built race/rally cars...but who are the only ones that you have heard of...Neal Bates.

Ive built a race car...that doesnt make me a good mechanic...infact most race cars are dodgy as fark underneath

That may be so, and to a certain extent I agree with you... I have seen quite a few very badly built race/rally cars.

There are obviously exceptions to the rule though and the cars that I have seen / driven that Mick (Techworkz) has built are exremely well put together... Some of them may not be pretty but they sure as hell perform well.

P.S. The reason that Neil Bates receives all of the attention is because he has always had the cash behind him to build and enter cars into high profile events that attract mainstream media (he can also drive very well) but there is also a large local rally scene in Canberra where lots of workshops / owner drivers take their well prepared rally cars and race around the Canberra countryside at insane speeds (most of them are very good drivers as well).

Perhaps you should give Techworkz a go before you judge a book by its cover?

[GTRKat]

Not saying that these guys are bad because I don't know either way but Zebra makes a good point.

The reason I don't use local workshops is that I don't like paying someone to reinvent the wheel. Prefer going to Sydney where there are more experienced workshops and tuners. The feeling of confidence and knowledge displayed with issues I have had with my car is really reassuring. As is turning up and seeing a whole workshop full of GTRs as this is their bread and butter.

A mechanic with 20 years experience is different to a mechanic with 20 years experience on RBs.

[Shell]

Here's a fairly recent photo of the shop:

Ahhh THAT'S where that dog groomers is. Thanks!

[Sinista32]

I'll use CRD for my GTR tuning (Haltech ECU). I agree Kat - over 20+yrs hands on experince with RB's.

Haltech being Jim's prefrence, I let the Tuner choose my ECU and I'm happy with his results.

CRD did the rebuild too and it feels like a teenage girl - smooth n tight !

But for general work maybe Techworkz - being under 2km's from me not 3hrs.

I'll reccomend Matty J (son) to take his MK3 Supra to ESP (A new Vipec ecu is on the cards).

A younger Tuner, several years experience with Supra's and a prefrence for Vipecs. Runs on the board with Supra's.

Last year I think ESP made a sad mistake of overbooking and caused delays due to this. Too much work on the go !!!!

I hear there has been some changes.......................and I expect a positive turn around from these changes.

[Frink]

Why would you go to Sydney to get work for a Canberra based car? It will cost way more, probably have a longer waiting list and by the time you get home you've lost a % of the power you got in Sydney because Canberra is 750m above sea level! doesn't sound like much but it makes a difference. Fair enough for big stuff like what Sin just had i can see the sense in having it done by CRD or the like, but not for anything else...

I'd go to Techworkz for most work on most cars. Mick is the man. Honest, on time and is very good at what he does. He just did some work for me on my new car, a car he is not familar with. He did the research, did the job and did a great job. I do recommend...

[Bullet32]

I can see that you would feel secure and safe taking your car to CRD for tuning and mechanical work and I wouldnt try to talk you out of it... But as Luke said, why would you get someone to tune your car in Sydney where there is a vastly different air mixture, then drive it back to Canberra and have it drop 10% in power?

"The reason I don't use local workshops is that I don't like paying someone to reinvent the wheel" - isnt this what every single workshop does these days anyway?... I would think that the only places that dont do this are the manufacturers of the engines themselves.

ESP would be my first choice for dyno tuning and big modifications like an RB25 or RB26 re-build as this is what they specialise in... Glenn has many years experience in tuning all kinds of performance cars (especially Skylines and Supras) and his results on the dyno speak for themselves... Plus they're local and if your car is local, this would work out better for the tune dont you think?

I guess that personal preference and experiences speak in volumes... Hence why I am suggesting you give Techworkz a go, even just for minor servicing.

[Bullet32]

Ahhh THAT'S where that dog groomers is. Thanks!

I knew I could trust you to mention that Shell

[GTRKat]

There's no point arguing as clearly people have different opinions. If I thought someone local was capable of giving me what I was after do you think I'd still be going to Sydney?

Think you'd be surprised at the amount of people that agree with me. I've sent many local Canberra cars in the workshop there, a lot of them aren't even people from this forum.

And no I don't think that workshops that build RBs all day every day are reinventing the wheel. Experienced workshops can do this stuff in their sleep.

I'd rather a 10% power loss in Canberra (that my dyno sheets don't correlate to btw) than running a tune that's just plain unsafe.

[natett]

This shows how these threads really can be pointless. Everyone has different experiences with different workshops and lets face it only the negatives are mentioned.

Many people that have issues with workshops are also the types that want the top dollar product/ results but wont pay for anything other than an ebay budget. things go wrong and they will then complain to everyone. that said some can also pay top dollar and recieve a hacked backyard job.

The best thing to do is pick 3-4 workshops people have mentioned and go in and talk to each workshop. get the work quoted, have a look around the shop and inspect their work. from there you have enough information to make the best choice based on your requirements.

[zebra]

You wont lose power getting it tuned in sydney....compared to getting it tuned in canberra.

the Air is thinner here...so you cant just magically make the air better by getting it tuned here...infact I'll bet 90% of dyno operators here have fudged the corrections to make the readings comparable to Sydney/other sea level dynos.

besides peak power means nothing if the mid range is full of lumps and bumps

[GTRKat]

I agree with you 100% Nathan.

And yes I'm skeptical about the whole air thing too.

But going on that basis, considering I've been doing my racing on the drag strip at Sydney, sounds good to get my tuning done there as that's where I need optimal performance.

[zebra]

This shows how these threads really can be pointless. Everyone has different experiences with different workshops and lets face it only the negatives are mentioned.

Many people that have issues with workshops are also the types that want the top dollar product/ results but wont pay for anything other than an ebay budget. things go wrong and they will then complain to everyone. that said some can also pay top dollar and recieve a hacked backyard job.

The best thing to do is pick 3-4 workshops people have mentioned and go in and talk to each workshop. get the work quoted, have a look around the shop and inspect their work. from there you have enough information to make the best choice based on your requirements.

THIS!!!!

There are horror stories about everywork shop/product out there.

Its up to the person to decide whether to believe them or not.

So far there would only be 1 shop in this area I would trust with building an Engine and 1 to tune it.

But that would only be if it was a $$$$ donk that I wounldnt build/tune myself

[zebra]

I should add

Getting it tuned in sydney and driving it around here would be safer than tune here and fang in sydney....tuning it in thin air will cause it to run lean at sea level unless the corrections are 110% perfect (very had to do with MAP based ECUs) or tuned rich.

[Sinista32]

It's a good healthy mass debate.